She glared disapprovingly, but the carefully blank look on Noam’s face didn’t falter.

“We need to know what you can do and how well you can do it,” she elaborated at last. “We need to know more about your magic – any special affinities, any boundary conditions. It’s standard operating procedure, Mr. Alvaro. There’s nothing to worry about. Now come with me.”

Noam really, really didn’t want to go with her. He couldn’t imagine anything less appealing than being asked to make a fool of himself in front of a whole bunch of government officials.

Still. He was admittedly interested in figuring out what kind of magic he could do.

I do love a good dystopian novel. While characters are usually my biggest draw in a book, The Fever King had a stronger plot than characters for me. The interaction of the characters on the basis of their magical gifts was intriguing.

Official synopsis:

In the former United States, sixteen-year-old Noam Álvaro wakes up in a hospital bed, the sole survivor of the viral magic that killed his family and made him a technopath. His ability to control technology attracts the attention of the minister of defense and thrusts him into the magical elite of the nation of Carolinia.

The son of undocumented immigrants, Noam has spent his life fighting for the rights of refugees fleeing magical outbreaks—refugees Carolinia routinely deports with vicious efficiency. Sensing a way to make change, Noam accepts the minister’s offer to teach him the science behind his magic, secretly planning to use it against the government. But then he meets the minister’s son—cruel, dangerous, and achingly beautiful—and the way forward becomes less clear.

Caught between his purpose and his heart, Noam must decide who he can trust and how far he’s willing to go in pursuit of the greater good.

While political drama isn’t usually my thing, the politics of Carolinia and Atlantia somehow drew me in. Maybe it was Noam’s passion to help the refugees, but I think it was even more how everyone’s personal experiences with the virus and with magic defined them. The characters as individuals did not make as much of an impression on me as their magical gifts and how they used them. You knew who the "witchlings" were based on their place in society, but knowing what they were didn’t necessarily tell you what they could do or what their individual power was.

All the main characters were using their powers—that we may or may not know about—to control or manipulate situations or other people secretly. Without spoiling the outcome for those who will read the book, not everyone is as they seem. Determining the ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys’ is nearly impossible with so many secrets being kept for so many reasons. There was a very small romantic interlude, but it was really just to add depth to an interpersonal relationship.

Overall, I found The Fever King to be a very complicated book. It was a little slow for me in the middle, but once the action started, it was consuming and I didn’t want to set the book down til I knew what was going to happen. I’m glad I kept going, because the ending plot twist was a surprise.

I’d give this book 4 out of 5 stars. I’d recommend this book for those who enjoy dystopian fiction and military or political thrillers. I look forward to more books in this series, but I’m not really sure where the author will take it next.

Becki Bayley has been a retail clerk, day-care worker, chocolatier, receptionist, debt management counselor, pampering specialist, reader, and collections advocate. She is currently a breakfast lady and blogger at SweetlyBSquared.com.

GIVEAWAY:

One of my lucky readers will win a copy of The Fever King!

Enter to win via the widget below. Giveaway will end on Monday, March 4th, at 11:59pm EST, and winner will be notified via email the next day, and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen.